It’s been a rather interesting week. In the past seven days it seems like I’ve been one crazed individual. The bizarre activates started with my being off work for a Saturday and Sunday, first time since June! We journeyed out to Wichita for a family Fall Barn Party. On Sunday evening my parents, Betty & Jerry arrived for a couple of days. We wanted them to stay longer, and we got our wish! Unfortunately it was due to some car problems and part delays. We’re thinking of using this ploy to our advantage on another trip!

Ervin hosted/judged the annual Monopoly tournament on Saturday and Phillip is continuing to nurse a headache associated with a concussion he received in football a couple weeks back. I baked 9 chocolate cakes for the Monopoly Tournament and haven’t gotten too much done on the home front.

Alrighty now, everyone should be up to date on what’s been happening at my never boring abode! I’ll tell you one thing, it’s never hum-drum around here. Tonight we had a delicious pan of scalloped potatoes and ham, scratch….not box for this gal. Then the boys took off to pick up the recently completed re-upholstery of Phillip’s F150, 1996 pick-up truck. A quick trip to Kansas City rounds out my week.

This apple butterscotch cake is probably one of my top favorite fall desserts.

It’s right up there with my mother’s apple crisp and apple cake with cider sauce!

Just sitting down and talking about these desserts makes me want to head for the kitchen! The history on the apple butterscotch cake goes back to when I first started teaching in the Platte County R-3 School District in Platte City, Missouri.

A colleague always brought this to carry-in luncheons at school. I enjoyed it because there wasn’t any icing and the butterscotch did nothing but flatter the apples. A dollop of fresh whipped cream makes this the perfect closure to a fall dinner. Wait, I’m not waiting until ‘dinner’, this is good with the afternoon coffee!

The saving grace with apple cakes is the fact that if you overbake, the apples provide a bit more moisture. This week I have eaten so many different types of apples. Friends from Minnesota even brought me a few northern apples to try. Then there’s the continual discussion of which apple makes the best apple pie. I AM NOT going to tell you! It’s a matter of personal taste. At the culinary school I frequently suggest using a tart/firm apple with a softer/sweeter apple. The softer apple will provide some thickening whereas the firm apples provide the nice ‘sliced’ look. When I was growing up this discussion was never encountered. You made a pie with whatever type of apple was at your access.

I’m also stewing a few apples this week and putting them into pint jars for winter.

A hot water bath will seal the deal for when the snow flies in a few more weeks.

Ooops, sorry Colorado friends, your snow has probably already flown!

Well, the boys just returned and there was a little ‘glitch’ so the revitalized truck isn’t here just yet. I’ll have to update you on that project a little later.

Life is sweet, grab it, hang on tight and enjoy the ride. Simply yours, The Covered Dish. www.thecovereddish.com

Apple Butterscotch Cake

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups diced and peeled apples

12-16 ounce bag of butterscotch chips

Mix the dry ingredients together and mix using a whisk. Stir all the wet ingredients into the dry, adding the apples last. Reserve the butterscotch chips until the very end. Pour the batter into a 9 x 13 baking pan; sprinkling the butterscotch chips over the top. For a metal pan set oven at 350 degrees and for a glass dish set temperature at 325 degrees. With the metal pan it will take 40-50 minutes to bake. As in most cases you can plan on about 16 servings from a 9 x 13 baking pan. The cake is especially yummy served warm with a dollop of whipped cream on top. Test the cake with a toothpick for doneness.